PROCEDURAL RHETORIC

What a game is trying to say to players through its systems and mechanics. Ideas, viewpoints, concepts and messages are expressed through the act of play, rather than what is communicated through narrative means. The concept of procedural rhetoric views games as possibility spaces where experimentation and exploration become part of the rhetorical process.

“Although it has garnered some criticism for systems that are perceived to be at odds with its themes, the procedural rhetoric of BioShock–that any man is only free to act because those in positions of power allow it–aligns perfectly with the narrative path.”